Among other things, she referred to the fact that, like many ambitious champions, she is also one of those people who has difficulty waking up in the morning for her daily training, and that the glare of publicity lasts much less than the hours of persistent, solitary work away from the cameras. Karolina revealed that she always associates the sound of the Cyprus national anthem with the crowning glory of her efforts, as it played on two occasions: once in Beijing and once in Athens.

From everything that she shared with us, what made the greatest impression on me was her reference to the ‘pain barrier’, the point at which most athletes – and less often champion athletes  – lose their strength and their will to keep trying. It is the point at which most give up the fight.

If an athlete, with the help of his coach and his own will and persistence, can manage to get through the pain barrier, new prospects open up and they lead to the achievement of goals.

It is the same stage that most Cypriot companies – and most companies around the world – have reached in recent years due to the financial crisis. It is the point at which companies, and perhaps the individuals that run them, feel that they have no future.

According to Karolina and the behaviour of champions, it is at this point that, first and foremost, we need to push ourselves towards new, better performances, passing through the pain barrier and, by making the extra effort, turning what looks impossible to most people into something feasible and real.

As a follow-up to my first book (Positive Impact! 26 Simple Ways to Boost Your Business and Your Life), my latest book “Crisis? Let’s Beat it!” aims to function as your ‘coach’ in every type of contest in which you are asked to take part in each aspect of your life. It comes to help you not only to get through the pain barrier but to expand your objectives by setting priorities, differentiating your actions, enriching your list of personal contacts, working on your personal development and behaviour and improving your performance by setting the bar even higher.

In this way you can consolidate your position by offering greater value to your clients/customers and associates. You can overcome the pain barrier and, like Archimedes, aptly shout “Eureka!” because your bar will already have been set very high.

* “Crisis? Let’s Beat it” will be available from Kindle to purchase and download in June 2013.

If you want to stand out from the crowd then strive to be remarkable! To do or create something that is worth other people’s attention and that is worth making a remark about.

Good is not good enough anymore…It should be great. Out of the ordinary. Noteworthy. Remarkable!

We should aim to gear our products, services and brands into being something so extraordinary that people will want to talk about them; that will make them worth writing about.

After all it is better to be remarked about than not even noticed. So go on, leave your re-mark!

Following our recent constructive meeting, Costas followed up not with a request to buy into his value added service but with five (5!) emails introducing me to his VIP friends from around the globe.

He praised my motivational speaking capabilities and asked his friends, one of which is one of the co-founders of peopleperhour.com, to meet up with me and see if there is a possibility of cooperating.

The story does not end here. Costas, who is very well versed with the latest technological advancements and design, has gone as far as suggesting web applications that are compatible with my iPhone in order to make my task of posting my daily motivational quotes, blogs and articles more efficient.

This blog ends with a cry to all salespeople, irrespective of what industry they are in, to stop pitching and start – like Costas – giving value!

*Pitching = making a presentation and going on and on about your product or service without using your 2 ears and 1 mouth in the exact same proportion as God has given them to you.

Recent events have undoubtedly caused many of us some uneasiness. Question after question of where our future lies.  We must however continue with the attitude that will brighten the future of this beautiful island we call ‘home’.

Many years ago, when I was still working for the family business (www.virardi.com) my father told me something I have held dear to my heart and have never, since then, forgotten. He said that it is inevitable that both your brother Giovanni and yourself will quarrel. You will have opposing views and there will be disagreement along your path to success. Whatever the outcome might be, your disagreement, like in every family and forward thinking company, has to stay in-house because:

.    The customer does not care about your disagreement;

.    The customer will probably not buy from you if he senses any lack of unity;

.    Word will spread through the grapevine and people will make a meal out of it, causing you to lose business and faith from your customers and prospects alike.

My dad told us to mend our differences behind closed doors and then show a unified picture to the outside world. This is more or less what Cyprus should do following the recent economic developments, the moratorium that was enforced by the EU, the faltering of at least one bank and the ‘haircut’ of up to 60% of depositors’ money.

Cyprus needs to project a unified picture to the outside world. It needs to pick up its broken pieces and mend the fence just like it did in 1974 following the Turkish invasion.

To do so Cyprus needs more ‘ambassadors’ to carry a positive message to the outside world so that the world at large will gain faith in our system and our country and the economy will kick-start once again. What I propose is for all of us, Cypriots and non-Cypriots, living and experiencing the beauty of this little island to start to B.E.L.I.E.V.E. in our irrefutable strength and courage to turn things around by:

Be positive: when interacting with people from abroad we should make a point of speaking positively about our country. Communicate the great things in Cyprus i.e. the warm climate and how wonderful it is to spend your summer holidays on the island that Aphrodite chose as her very own. Corporate tax is at 12.5% and still lower than all the other European countries and many more.

Encourage others:  spreading your positive vibe encourages others to see a light at the end of the tunnel. The more people think positive the more people are likely to buy thus turning the drop in domestic consumption into a surplus.

Learn from what happened: there is a lesson to be learnt from every situation, use this lesson to make a better future. The consumption expenditure of households accounted for at least half of GDP in the majority of EU Member States. This share was highest in Greece (76.2 %), Cyprus (72.2 %), and Malta (70.3 %). We need to learn to live within our means.

Identify opportunities: you will be surprised how opportunities arise out of bad situations, be prepared to seize an opportunity. We must start reading and exposing ourselves to new information. A friend told me that the Irish government has taken a new initiative handing out as a gift Anthony Robbin’s best-selling book “Awaken the Giant Within!” to all registered unemployed citizens.

Engage relationships positively: we need to create positive, collaborative and effective relationships; you never know how these may benefit you in the near future. As the saying goes “your network will determine your net-worth!” As one of my Mentor’s says “in a recession you need to invest money in becoming a member in foundations like the Rotary and Lions and the likes”

Vision share your vision of how positive things are evolving in Cyprus with the prospect of gas and energy creating more jobs and wealth for the country and its people in the medium term. Share how life in Cyprus flows as usual and us Cypriots getting ready to welcome ‘home’ our beloved 2013 tourists in the same vein that was captured by Crete in this video:

Eliminate gossip: stick to the facts and figures because assumptions and hearsay can create bad vibes which are helpful to no one other than Cyprus’ competitors. Accountants and lawyers from abroad have already started marketing their services and ‘lucrative’ deals to Cyprus based businesses.

B.E.L.I.E.V.E. in Cyprus by becoming an ambassador for the beautiful island we call ‘home’… we need you more than ever!

Just over a year ago, Alex and success where strangers but within a few months and a lot of cunning work Alex assumed his goal.  His song “Forever Yours” was No. 4 in the UK charts on Christmas Day!  Being at the top of the charts on Christmas Day is a pretty big deal in the UK.

Alex’s story is unlike no others in his field.  He had no idea how to produce his own music without outside help and had never played live because, as he so states, he felt more comfortable uploading to YouTube where he could spend time getting it just right.

To reach his hugely audacious goal, Alex differentiated from all the big artists. Most of the big names spend their time touring the globe, Alex on the other hand focused on producing YouTube videos and exposing himself to the millions of daily users.  He also searched long and hard through the rules of the charts to find loopholes. These searches found him the loophole that helped him land in the No. 4 position and paved the way for many more artists to follow.

Alex refers to his plan as “hacking the music industry” and here are the three steps that made it happen:

1. Set A Clear Goal: Like best-selling author Tim Ferriss, Alex Day is a big fan of unrealistic goals! Alex booked a studio session before he could change his mind and knowing there was a solid date to work towards he focused on his challenge. In his own words “I’d paid the money for a day in the studio so I had to be competent enough to produce by then!” Most artists begin with the same mind frame “sell lots, get played, and get in the charts”. Alex’s goal however, was “get to the top”.  As Alex puts it, “Very few people were actually trying to get to the top, so even though the goal is that much harder, it gives you less competition because other people have already limited themselves below you”.  Your goal, like Day’s, needs to start with a big dream!
2. Be Strong On YouTube: Alex Day managed to amass a YouTube audience in excess of 650,000, all of whom have subscribed to his channel and get notified of every new video he creates. Alex had built his audience without the help of agents, producers, directors or PR folks.  He has an audience ready to be excited about his goal, he has people caring about him, not just his music, people who are personally supportive of what he wants to achieve and most importantly he has his own press outlet, no need to go through newspapers or TV.  Alex urges all of us, irrespective of our chosen field, to harness the power of YouTube and even to try to join forces with other similar minded people in getting our value message across.
3. Find and Exploit Loopholes: This, in Alex’s eyes is what gets you to the top! The first thing Alex did was to download the UK chart rules and read them. Some research found him the loophole he was looking for. In the UK, unlimited variants of a song can all be released and their sales combine to a single chart position. Alex released 11 different remixes of the same song on the same day, therefore reaching a wider audience as he had catered for all tastes!  This, is what took Alex to the No. 4 position in the UK charts.

Alex’s success was based on a simple and easy to understand three step formula which started with a clear goal and a decision to differentiate from the pack. I have been inspired to make this my personal goal too, in hope of making my future as bright as Alex Day’s year.  I wish the same for all my blog readers!

PS: A special thank you to my dearest friend and Mentor Thales Panagides for bringing this article to my attention.

Ideas are the most precious resources in our possession. Having an idea is like having a key to your future success. And when the light bulb turns on when an idea strikes that is the ideal moment to note it down, modify, transform, organise and finalise it…Most of all do something with it or even about it. Everything starts from your imagination, and there is no limit to that. Remember that great minds discuss ideas, not things or people. So be a great mind and don’t be afraid to voice the ideas in your head.

Problems are part of life. They help us grow and gain experience so that we are better prepared for the next obstacle that comes our way. Life will strike you down. Everyone fails and many fall. But it’s how fast you get up that counts. And you should get up. Otherwise your dreams, aims and objectives shall never materialize.

You can imitate others in order to be successful (i.e. a McDonald’s franchise) or you can carve your own way (i.e. Steve Jobs at Apple). The very basis of success is actually revealing and innovating something no-one else thought of, or even improving something someone else thought of. So cherish your uniqueness and dare to stand out of the crowd.